


the dirt in which our roots may grow

by waterybrains



Series: The Place Where The Lost Things Go [1]
Category: Emmerdale
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:54:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23308702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waterybrains/pseuds/waterybrains
Summary: Vanessa does Ross a little favour.Set early 2018.
Relationships: Charity Dingle/Vanessa Woodfield
Series: The Place Where The Lost Things Go [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1676728
Comments: 8
Kudos: 92





	the dirt in which our roots may grow

“Vanessa, hey, wait up!” 

She’s startled by the sound of Ross’ voice, watches as he breaks out into a light jog to approach her with Moses bundled in his arms. He slows his paces when he catches Vanessa’s attention, and he puts Moses down beside him before he turns to Vanessa, slightly out of breath, “Just the woman I was looking for.”

“What’s up?” Vanessa asks. She’s distracted by Johnny, who is relentlessly pulling at her hand until she finally gives in and lets it go. When she looks down at him, Moses is reaching out to pull him into a hug. She allows herself a moment to watch them: how they grin madly at each other as soon as they break apart and start chattering away about anything and everything, faces so serious it almost makes her laugh. She forgets how easy it is to make friends at that age - the simplicity of it all. It’s nice to watch.

“Have you seen Charity?” Ross sighs loudly, “I can’t get a hold of her.”

“No, why? Is she alright?” She frowns.

“I was hoping you would know, love, the doctors rang and told me to come in so they can check out the money-maker,” He gestures towards his face, ”and Charity is dodging my calls and I can’t exactly take this little mite with me.”

“I could take him, if you like? He can have a little playdate with Johnny?” Vanessa blurts out before she has a chance to stop herself. She regrets the offer as soon as it comes out of her mouth. 

“Yeah? I’d owe you one.” 

Vanessa wrings her hands nervously, silently kicking herself for offering to help without thinking. Her relationship with Charity is so _new_ , and Charity has only just gotten used to them calling each other girlfriends and everything that comes with it. She’s not entirely sure how Charity’s going to react to her offering to babysit Moses for the day, and the last thing Vanessa wants is to scare Charity off by taking strides in their relationship when they have a silent agreement to take it one baby-step at a time. 

But Ross is looking at her so hopefully, and she can’t exactly take back her generous offer. So she smiles tightly at him, and tries to ignore the way her stomach has curled up in knots. 

“Yeah, well, I guess since you’re twisting my arm, Charity Dingle Support Group and all,” She jokes lamely. 

She looks back down at the boys then: they’re still caught up in their own little conversation, oblivious to everything going on around them. She places her hand on top of Johnny’s head and gestures for him to grab her hand when she finally gets his attention, turns to Moses next and offers her other hand out to him. Moses takes it without hesitation, launches his whole body in Vanessa’s direction to grab her free hand with both of his, smiling up at her the entire time, “You wanna come with have a playdate with Johnny, darling?”

“Yeah!” Moses exclaims excitedly. He doesn’t even turn to say goodbye to Ross before he’s tugging at Vanessa’s hand until she starts walking, and within seconds Johnny’s doing the same, pulling her away from Ross before they can properly finish their conversation. 

“You’re a lifesaver, Vanessa” Ross calls out after the three of them, and she mumbles a no problem as the boys drag her towards the street, yammering at her to take them home so Johnny can show Moses his toys.

*

She expects them to be a handful together, so she’s surprised when it turns out that looking after two boys is a little bit easier to manage than just one. As promised, Johnny drags Moses towards his toys as soon as they get home. They empty his toy chest together, and Johnny's chatting away, lifting his toys one by one to pass to Moses, who's watching him so intently. They’ve been keeping each other entertained since.

The sound effects they make as they bump their toys against each other hurts Vanessa’s ears - but it injects her normally quiet house with a liveliness that it hasn’t had in a while, and she finds that she actually doesn’t mind the noise that much. Not when it’s the kind of loud that’s so full of life. 

She leaves them be as they grab more toys to throw around at each other and heads towards the kitchen, pops the kettle on, turning to rest against the kitchen counter, her eyes on the kids again. Joy sparkles inside of her, and she savours the feeling of contentment that rushes through her veins at the sight. She doesn’t think she’ll ever get tired of it. How giddy it makes her, the fact that her and Charity’s boys look _this_ comfortable with each other.

She used to worry so much about Johnny - still does sometimes - he’s always been a little bit quiet and shy, and when she first sent him off to nursery she had been worried that he wouldn’t make any friends. It’s hard to remember those concerns now, not when her son is the most talkative she’s ever seen him. They’ve had more playdates recently - Johnny and Moses, and Vanessa delights in watching them play together, loves how they complement each other’s personalities.

Moses is every bit Johnny’s opposite: the kind of kid who will run into any situation head first without hesitation. She has watched Charity literally hold him back by the collar of his shirt time and time again in situations where Johnny would be hiding behind her legs, and it amuses her to no end, that someone so little could have so much energy in their body. They bring out the best in each other, and she loves watching how Johnny seems to come out of his shell when he’s around Moses, how gentle Moses is towards Johnny.

They could be _brothers_ one day, somewhere in the distant future, and Vanessa won’t let herself go there just yet, but she can’t help how desperately she wants it all. 

For Johnny to have a brother. For her and Charity to become something permanent. 

She can’t let herself think that far ahead though, not just yet. Not when everything is so fresh and new and scary and uncertain. They’ve only recently found their footing, and even this, _today_ : the whole thing worries her a little bit. Because there’s still a part of her that wonders if Charity will think it’s too big a step. If this glimpse at family will be the thing that finally scares Charity off and sends her running for the hills yet again. 

Vanessa’s in far too deep for that to not hurt if it happens. 

“It’s only me,” her thoughts are interrupted by a loud bang as Charity swans in and slams the front door behind her, “You won’t believe the day I’ve had, I-”

A loud squeal echoes off the walls of the house as Moses spots his Mum. He moves to stand on his feet and barrels straight towards Charity’s leg, and Charity loses her balance when he throws his entire weight against her. She catches herself quickly and shifts so they both stay standing. 

“Hiya, baba,” The gentle tone in her voice contrasts the surprised look she’s giving Vanessa from across the room, “What’re you doing here?”

“Play time wif’ Johnny.”

“I can see that,” She looks down and smiles softly at him, leaning to extract him from her leg before lowering herself until she’s at his eye level, “You havin’ a good time?”

“Yeah, we playin’ trucks- wanna come look?”

“Gimme a sec babe, I’m gonna go talk to Ness, okay?” She cradles his head gently as Moses nods vigorously. He sprints back to where he was just sitting as soon as Charity lets him go, and when Charity looks at Johnny, he's staring straight at Charity with wide eyes. He blushes when Charity waves and smiles at him and waves right back with his little hand before quickly turning his attention back to Moses, who’s now ramming the truck Johnny’s holding with one of his own. 

Charity gets back up and crosses the room, stopping to shrug the coat off her shoulders and throws it on the back of the sofa. Vanessa’s watching every single one of her movements attentively. She’s a bundle of nerves as she waits for Charity to settle beside her, leaning back against the kitchen counter, mirroring Vanessa’s stance. “What’s this, then?”

Vanessa’s heartbeat quickens, and she wipes her now clammy hands against her jeans, “I ran into Ross when I was getting Johnny, and he said something about having to go to the doctors. Said he couldn’t get a hold of you, so I offered to take him.”

Vanessa feels Charity tense beside her, but to Vanessa’s relief, she relaxes quickly enough, scooching ever so slightly closer to Vanessa instead until their sides are pressed-up against each other. A hand comes around her to rest against her hips and she feels herself get pulled impossibly closer towards Charity.

“Thank you,” Charity says simply, “you didn’t have to do that.”

“S’Alright,” Vanessa replies, ducking her head to hide the smile that blooms across her face. “You don’t have to thank me.”

“He hasn’t been too much trouble has he?”

“No, not at all,” Vanessa shakes her head, ”He’s been lovely actually, they’ve just been playing all afternoon, I should probably get them down for their nap soon?”

“I’ll do it,” Charity says nonchalantly, turning to give Vanessa a quick peck on the cheek before she extracts her hand from Vanessa’s waist and uses it to push her weight off the counter. 

She claps her hands together and approaches the kids, and as soon as she announces her presence both boys are immediately enraptured by her: there’s no fuss as they each take her hand and lets her walk them upstairs, enticed by the promise of a story before their nap. 

There’s a warmth that spreads across Vanessa’s chest as she watches them disappear up the stairs.

She won’t give it a name just yet.

It’s far too early for that.

*

“You didn’t mind did ya? That I offered to take Moses,” Vanessa busies herself in the kitchen - it’s been about half an hour since Charity put the boys down, and they’ve just been sitting quietly in Vanessa’s kitchen since. Her back is turned away from Charity, who’s sitting at the dining table with a brew in front of her - mindlessly clicking away at one of those games on her cellphone. 

“Mind?” Charity's voice booms over the sound of the music from the game. There’s a familiar tune that plays as Charity makes another move and victory music plays out loud as a result, “You did me a huge favour, babe.” 

“I did?” 

“Course you did,” Charity answers, and Vanessa hears Charity lock her phone before she tosses it on the table, “and it’s good to see them get along really well yeah? I know we’ve had a couple of playdates at the park and all, but it’s good to know they can handle a little sleepover, right?”

Vanessa’s heart stops beating for a second, and she’s glad her back is turned to Charity so she can’t see how much she has caught Vanessa off-guard. She manages a little squeak in response, hoping that Charity doesn't notice her falter as she continues to chop the vegetables in front of her like Charity hasn’t just knocked the wind right out of her.

It baffles Vanessa sometimes, this side of Charity. She can’t believe how nonchalantly they’re having this discussion. It’s _so_ Charity to act like their boys spending time together like this - like all of them spending time together _like this_ isn’t a significant step towards one day becoming a family. 

It’s _so not_ a big deal to Charity, but it’s a big deal to Vanessa. And now that she’s gotten a glimpse of what it’s like, Vanessa finds that she wants that more than anything.

“Means more sleepovers for us too, right?” Charity says jokingly. The chair she’s sitting on scrapes against the floor as Charity moves to stand, closing the distance between her and Vanessa. 

She can feel Charity hovering behind her as one of Charity’s hands wraps around her middle, the other coming up to grab her hand, working her fingers away from the knife she’s holding until Charity’s holding it instead before she places it safely on the cutting board. Charity rests her head on Vanessa’s shoulder then, turning in to place gentle kisses against her neck that runs shivers down Vanessa’s spine. 

“Charity….” Vanessa whines half-heartedly and squirms to get out of Charity’s grip, but there’s nothing to it. Vanessa loves the domesticity of all this. 

“C’mon babe,” Vanessa’s grin widens when Charity’s grip on her torso tightens, “It’ll be a while before the boys get up.”

“Later,” Vanessa laughs breathlessly as she turns in Charity’s arms. Her hands wind around Charity’s neck, and she stands on her tiptoes to pull Charity down into a kiss. She beams up at Charity when they come apart and places a gentle hand on Charity’s stomach to push her away. 

“You’re such a tease,” Charity grumbles as she plops back down on the dining chair. She stomps her foot, throwing a strop like Moses would when he doesn’t get his way, and she crosses her arms in front of her and pouts, _actually_ pouts at Vanessa. Vanessa can’t hide the laughter that bubbles out of her at the sight, and she shakes her head quietly at Charity who sulks further into her chair. 

“Later, Charity.” Vanessa says, turning back towards the chopping board, picking up where she left off, “Patience is a virtue, you know.”

“I’m going to hold you to that, babe.”

*

Nowadays, Vanessa spends most of her afternoons at the pub. It’s a bit pathetic really, but she can’t think of a better way to spend her free time than watching Charity work. It’s not even that they talk loads while she’s working, and sometimes she even gets Tracy or Rhona to join her for lunch so she has company, but there’s just something about being in the same room with Charity, even if they’re doing different things that excites her and lifts her mood without fail. 

Today’s not any different, she’s sitting in her seat _-_ the one at the corner of the bar that most of the regulars know is reserved for her and her only - tapping away at the now empty glass in front of her. She’s mindlessly watching Charity go about her shift: hopping from one table to another as she charms the locals with her endless snark when Ross slides in beside her and raises his hand, calling Charity towards them. 

“Hey, thanks again for the other day.” Ross says to Vanessa, clicking his fingers louder when Charity raises her eyebrows at them from across the pub. 

“Don’t mention it,” Vanessa responds, watching as Charity saunters over with two empty glasses. She places them off to the side before resting her hip against her side of the bar, taking a quick second to smirk and wink at Vanessa before she turns to Ross with a pointed glare. 

“What do you want?” 

“Pint for your missus here, and two for me.” He drawls. 

“And why, pray, tell, are you buying _my_ _girlfriend_ a drink?”

Something glows inside of Vanessa at Charity’s words, and she has to bite her lip to stop herself from smiling too wide. 

“Well she’s with you, so,” He trails off, a cheeky smirk on his face, “a pint might ease a bit of the hassle that comes with that, am I right, Vanessa?” 

“Oi,” Vanessa chastises instinctively, and out of the corner of her eye she sees Charity pause mid-pour. She gathers herself quickly, so Vanessa ignores it and continues to glare at Ross instead, not letting up even when Charity places the pints in front of them and reaches a hand across the bar to place it gently on Vanessa’s forearm. “Less of the cheek, or I won’t be doing you any more favours.”

Ross throws his hands up and cowers a little, but within seconds they both break out into smiles. “Can’t have that, can we,” Vanessa has his full attention even as he gives Charity the money he owes her, “This support group thing is working out really well for me.” 

“Yeah, well. As long as you keep paying for my drinks.” Vanessa jokes as he collects the two pints in his hands. He flashes her a final grin before he lifts the glasses and crosses the pub, taking a seat in front of Pete who’s waiting for him at one of the tables. 

“What was that about?” Charity asks once Ross is out of earshot. She looks curiously at Vanessa, starts tapping restlessly at Vanessa's forearm where her hand is resting. 

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Vanessa covers Charity's hand with her own - lifts it and intertwines their fingers together, rubbing gentle circles in the spot between Charity’s thumb and forefingers. 

“Babe.” Charity scowls, and Vanessa just laughs at her, taking a sip of her beer as Charity continues to mutter complaints under her breath. The foam from her drink forms a moustache above her upper lip, and she quickly reaches for a napkin to dab it away before Charity can reach into her pocket to grab her phone and take a picture. Charity sulks even more when she realizes she’s missed her opportunity, but she leans across the bar anyway and captures Vanessa’s lip in a kiss that’s over before it even starts. 

“I’ll get it out of you, you know,” Vanessa can feel every single one of Charity’s words against her lips, “I will. Whatever that was.”

Vanessa hums nonchalantly in response, closing the distance between them instead. The butterflies make a home in her stomach when their lips meet again, and Vanessa struggles to remember that they’re in public - that it isn’t exactly appropriate to have a dirty snog with your girlfriend at her place at work.

Not that Charity would mind. 

Charity pulls away after a short while, and Vanessa whines before she realizes that Nicola’s shouting at Charity from the other end of the pub. She can barely hear anything over the sound of her own heartbeat racing in her ears. 

“This’ll have to wait, but don’t think you’re off the hook, babe,” Charity whispers, giving Vanessa a lingering look before she turns around and saunters away, giving her hips an extra sway for Vanessa’s benefit. 

Vanessa could get used to this. 

*


End file.
